I was in Philadelphia this week for a conference and had just a bit of time to wander around town. I saw the Liberty Bell, which was cool, but was floored to see homeless people trying to get warm over a grate less than a block away.

Any thoughts on these types of experiences? How do I process something like this? Reply here, or at http://blog.neverthesamerivertwice.com/.

This weekend I attempted to complete the challenge from A Complaint Free World (http://tinyurl.com/65yey8).

I didn’t do so well. A couple of things I learned:
1) My thoughts are much more negative than I realized.
2) Health and energy matters. Lack of sleep made me much more negative.
3) If I practiced this until I could go 21 days without complaining, I think my brain’s wiring would change considerably.

I you’ve tried this challenge – especially if you’ve been successful for 21 days – I would love to hear insights, tips, and tricks for success. I think I’ll take this up in the new year and go for real.

For more crazy lifestyle experiments, follow along at http://blog.neverthesamerivertwice.com/.

This weekend I’ve decided to take the challenge laid out in A Complaint Free World (http://tinyurl.com/65yey8). Here’s the short version:
1) wear a bracelet or rubber band on your wrist
2) don’t complain, gossip or criticize
3) if you break rule #2, move the bracelet to your other wrist

Tim Ferris reported his results here: http://tinyurl.com/yvadjk.

Hunter Nuttal wrote a great series of posts here: http://tinyurl.com/6av5ll

Should be interesting. I’ll let you know how it goes on Monday.

Technically I failed in my assignment of connecting with an old friend by phone. I called, but didn’t get any callbacks. However, I think in the larger sense this challenge was successful because it gave me the inspiration to rethink my introverted ways and focus more on connecting with others.

Did you follow along with this experiment? Share your experience here or at http://blog.neverthesamerivertwice.com/.

I’ve had a rough week. Normally, I would go home and veg in front of the TV or with a book, but I’ve seen some research on happiness that suggests that connecting with friends and family is a better solution to stress.

This weekend I’m going to try to call a couple of friends that I haven’t seen or talked to in a while. If you’re feeling down and disconnected, why not try it yourself.

Follow this experiment at http://blog.neverthesamerivertwice.com/